Bill Nighy Zeroes In On Villain Role In ‘I, Frankenstein’

Bill Nighy Zeroes In On Villain Role In 'I, Frankenstein'

Bill Nighy is currently in negotiations for a role that will most likely have him in either facial prostheses or beady, red contact lenses: A demon prince in the revisionist horror/sci-fi actioner “I, Frankenstein,” based on Kevin Grevioux’s upcoming graphic novel.

Early plot details are simple enough: Frankenstein’s monster, named Adam, (Aaron Eckhart), exists in an alternate universe where an immortal demon race strives to attain unprecedented power by hunting Adam down and uncovering the mystery of his origin in order to give rise to an army of reanimated corpses…

Grevioux co-created the “Underworld” films, a franchise that may have ushered in the genre mash-up fetish that’s currently infecting all corners of pop aesthetics. As you know, the trend grew out of graphic novels (e.g.,“Cowboys and Aliens”), novel-novels (“Pride And Prejudice and Zombies”), moved on to film (“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters,” “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and countless others in development), and then the last stop on the culture train — television (ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” NBC’s “Grimm”).

Stuart Beattie, an Australian transplant and screenwriter, is set to direct in what will be his second time behind the camera, following his homeland blockbuster “Tomorrow, When The War Began.”

Nighy is a busy Brit indeed; the voice of Grandsanta in “Arthur Christmas,” playing opposite Judi Dench and Tom Wilkinson in “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” back as Hephaestus in “Wrath of the Titans,” co-starring in Bryan Singer’s “Jack the Giant Killer,” and playing Kuato in the “Total Recall” remake — wait…shouldn’t Peter Dinklage or a motion-capture Andy Serkis be doing that?

Another Aussie, Socratis Otto (“Home & Away” a down-under TV series, and the upcoming “Gone”) is set to play Nighy’s character’s henchman. “I, Frankenstein” will hit theaters on February 22, 2013. [Variety]